Devon Energy to acquire WPX for $2.56bn

Bloomberg

Devon Energy Corp agreed to acquire WPX Energy Inc in a $2.56 billion all-stock deal, creating one of the largest independent US shale producers and answering investor calls for consolidation at a time of crisis for the sector.
Devon shareholders will own about 57 percent of the combined company, Devon and WPX said on Monday in a statement.
The combination will create one of the biggest independent shale producers in the country, tying together two companies with sizable operations in the hottest part of the prolific Permian Basin, which straddles
West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
US shale company shareholders, frustrated after years of poor returns and missed targets, have long called for the industry to consolidate in order to cut costs, and some have advocated for low- to no-premium deals, just to get them across the finish-line.
The plunge in oil prices this year, which has left much of the industry unprofitable, has only added to the impetus for mergers and takeouts, particularly in the Permian, where scores of producers operate side by side.
“This deal makes strategic sense as Devon and WPX have proximate positions in the state line area
of the Delaware Basin,”
Leo Mariani, an Austin-based analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc, wrote in a note before the merger was announced.